Free A Prior Engagement by S. L. Scott

like this, are we?” Tracy scoffed. “Okay, what can I get for you then?”
    “A decaf mocha latte, to-go, please.”
    The place was empty, so Tracy decided to make small talk with her only customer. “I’m Tracy.”
    “Hi, I’m Evie.”
    “Do you go to Hunter College?”
    “Yes, I’m an English major.”
    “Oh, that explains a lot.”
    “What do you mean?” Evie felt like maybe she should be offended by the barista’s tone, but tried to hold off her assumption until she explained.
    “You and William. He’s also an English major.” While Tracy was making the latte, she saw Evie smile at the mention of his name, so she probed further. “You have classes together?”
    “Only one.”
    “He’s cute, don’t you think?” Tracy placed the coffee on the counter and watched Evie’s reaction.
    Evie blushed, looked down, and lied. “I hadn’t noticed.”
    Tracy knew that look and there was no way anyone wouldn’t notice how attractive William was, but since she didn’t want to make things awkward by continuing to talk about him, she dropped the subject.
    Evie set her money on the counter. “Thanks, I’ll see you soon.”
    As Evie added a dash more sugar to her hot drink, Tracy, feeling nice, said, “He was in this morning, but got his coffee to go. He had to work today.”
    Evie allowed an outward smile this time.
    Right then her phone rang. Tom . Her happy bubble dissipated as reality sank in. She debated not answering it, but decided it was best to talk to him now. “Hello?”
    “Why haven’t you been answering your phone?” he asked, not nicely, but a demand.
    “I need some space from . . .” She looked at Tracy who smiled back at her. Evie knew she needed to have this conversation in private.
    “From what? From me? ”
    She rushed out the door as he yelled into the phone.
    All of her strength escaped and she wavered in her stance. “Tom, please listen to me,” she pleaded. “I apologize. I have finals and need to study. I’ve got too much on my mind right now and I don’t want to fight with you or anyone else.”
    “I can be more understanding than you give me credit for. All you have to do is talk to me. I love you, Everleigh.”
    “I know. I’m sorry.”
    “You have today to yourself for your studies. I hope that eases some of your worries. I’ll see you tomorrow night.”
    Evie had reviewed her obligations for the week in her planner, and although she didn’t want to upset him any further, she needed to remind him of her commitments. “Tom, I have the Latham fundraising meeting tomorrow night.”
    “I fly out to Chicago for the expansion project on Monday, but I’ll be back on Tuesday.” She already knew about his trip. She always wrote down his events in her planner. She liked to be prepared. “I’ll see you Tuesday then. Let’s do lunch and change things up,” he said.
    “Yeah, let’s go crazy and do lunch—” The words left her mouth before she could stop them.
    “Everleigh, you know how I feel about sarcasm.” His reminder was firm.
    She did know how he felt about sarcasm. As long as it was him and not her, he was good with it, but she held that sarcastic thought inside.
    “Lunch on Tuesday, Tom.”
    She hung up and dropped the phone back into her purse.
    She was quick to shake the feelings Tom had instilled in her as she strolled along the busy avenue back toward her home, having trained herself to release the anger and fear and focus on the happy. It was the only way she could survive. There was no other option or she would lose everything and everyone that meant anything to her.
    It was a beautiful evening and she felt hungry, not having eaten anything since the chef was given the weekend off. She now stood in front of Pizzeria La Cucina and decided she’d grab a pizza to take home with her. She knew William wanted to introduce her to the place, but she decided she’d be more relaxed on Monday if she knew what she was getting into.
    When Evie approached, the